Uplifting Community-Driven Priorities
Medford Mass in Motion
Overview
Medford’s Mass in Motion program was looking for equitable approaches to address food security in the community. ACBC Consulting came in to provide strategic visioning, which set the foundation for R&D of the Medford Food Security Plan. Based on the Food Security Plan, ACBC Consulting secured $21K in grant funding for the Program, focused on identifying barriers to the use of food assistance programs and potential modes of support. ACBC Consulting designed a mini Food Assistance Assessment to identify community-driven priorities. The results highlighted the need for a Food Policy Council, which ACBC Consulting advocated and secured $15K in earmarked funding for its startup.
Challenge
The Medford Mass in Motion program needed to identify and respond to the multi-facted needs of the community for equitable food security.
Approach
ACBC Consulting strategic visioning for the Medford Food Security Plan. We developed a grant strategy to address certain barriers identified in the Food Security Plan, focusing on food assistance programs. ACBC Consulting then designed a mini Food Assistance Assessment for the grant program to identify barriers and potential opportunities for support. Afterwards, we leveraged local partnerships for startup funding for a local Food Policy Council composed of community members with lived expertise of food insecurity to act on community-driven priorities.
Outcome
The Medford Food Security Plan supported by ACBC Consulting served as a long-term roadmap for local food security efforts. It even allowed the program to secure an additional $21K in funding to address one of the plan's priorities! The subsequent grant and the results of its mini Food Assistance Assessment led to the advocacy for a startup of a Food Policy Council and $15K in earmarked funding from the region’s State Representatives.
Conclusion
With the support of ACBC Consulting, the Mass in Motion program identified multiple approaches to address local food security and developed several plans and additional strategies focused on community priorities. These strategies paid off to secure startup funding for a local Food Policy Council, which will solidify local policy and advocacy efforts for local food security.